Frequently very hard TiC powders are “cemented” or liquid phase sintered using binders made of nickel, molybdenum, niobium and tungsten which in combination may total 41% of the weight with the balance 59% lightweight TiC. Nickel with a density of 8.9 g/cc may be as much as 25% of the binder material. All the metals used have high weights, molybdenum 10.22 g/cc, niobium 8.57 g/cc and tungsten 19.3 g/cc, resulting in a density of 6.15 g/cc for the composite TiC alloy. The hardness of the TiC alloy is attractive for armor applications. However, binder systems that use elements that are relatively heavy create a weight disadvantage for certain applications.
To avoid limitations of other systems, it would be good to have a hard TiC based alloy that is lighter in weight than 6.15 grams/cc and/or to have an alloy system that will bond with titanium and ceramics thereby creating composite structures. It would be particularly advantageous to have an alloy that will form bonds to titanium and other materials such as alumina ceramics allowing the production of composite structures offering advantages in attachment methods, weight, ductility and ballistics properties.
The present disclosure relates to alloy systems that contain TiC and are made by using a green binder system of titanium sponge granules or titanium powders and a binder system comprising titanium, nickel, and aluminum provided either as a master alloy or as elemental powders.
Unique features may include substitution of titanium in the liquid phase binder and the use of soft titanium sponge granules as a green binder.